


The Prince and the Moon Monster

by Phi_ScarlaDraconian



Series: Relationship Status: Complicated [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Bad Decisions, Meet-Cute Maybe, Pre-Series, Snark, Tag as I post
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-02
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-02-09 14:45:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12890139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phi_ScarlaDraconian/pseuds/Phi_ScarlaDraconian
Summary: Zuko just wanted to explore, Lu Ten...And Zhou just wants Zuko to listen when he says a plan is crazy.This is more than just the story of Zuko's friendship with Zhou...but saying more would be telling.





	1. The Stowaways

“Aunt Ursa is going to kill me,” Lu Ten moaned, holding his head in his hands.

“She is well versed in poisons, from what I hear,” Master Piandao said, stroking his beard contemplatively.  At Lu Ten’s groan, he continued, “it may still be better than being roasted alive by Master Jeong-Jeong.”

“Why do I suddenly hope Aunt Ursa is the one who kills me?”

“I’m really sorry, cousin Lu Ten,” the youngest boy begged.  “I just wanted to explore.”

“Why couldn’t you explore the _Palace_ , isn’t it big enough?” Lu Ten begged his young cousin.  “And why couldn’t you _talk_ him out of this insanity?” he asked the older boy.

“Mere son of a nobleman,” the boy started while pointing to himself.  Then he pointed to Zuko and said, “fourth in line to the Dragon Throne.”

“Just because he’s a prince doesn’t mean you do everything he _says_!” Lu Ten wailed, before slumping in abject defeat.

“What _else_ am I supposed to do?” the elder boy asked.

“Tell him it’s a stupid idea,” Lu Ten said with finality.  “Especially if the idea is this stupid.  Now we have to get you back before Aunt Ursa sends out search parties.”

“Oh, that won’t be a problem, I got Zhou to write a letter so she knows we’re with you!” Zuko said brightly.

“ _Damnit_ Zuko,” Zhou grumbled, smacking himself in the face as Master Piandao and Lu Ten both focused their attention on him.

“And what, pray, did this letter _say_?” Master Piandao asked.

“That Lu Ten had invited Zuko and I to come with him for training and you had approved,” Zhou told him.

“Which is exactly what I asked him to write!  Mom even wrote you a letter saying we could come!” Zuko said excitedly, brandishing a scroll case.

One of Master Piandao’s eyebrows crawled up in disbelief.  After a moment, he held out his hand, “very well, let’s see what she wrote.”

Zuko happily handed it over, to Zhou’s growing horror.  Lu Ten watched as Zuko beamed guilelessly and Zhou covered his face in terror while Master Piandao examined the letter from Princess Ursa.

“Hmm…” Piandao hummed.  “Master Piandao, if you would please inform Zuko that he is grounded as soon as he returns from his adventure until such time as he has mastered written High Court.  Considering Zhou’s excellent diction and calligraphy, he can be Zuko’s tutor in this.  He should also thank Zhou because if I had found out _after_ their return, I would have grounded Zuko indefinitely when they returned.  There seems to be quite a bit more, but I think that’s all that pertains to the two of you.”

Lu Ten watched as the expression of the two boys switched; Zuko with his jaw hanging in horrified shock and Zhou peeking out from behind his fingers in dawning hope.

Zuko whirled angrily towards his friend, face twisting in betrayal.

“You own mom thinks you should thank me for keeping you from getting grounded!” Zhou shouted reflexively when faced with Zuko’s hurt pout.

“Didn’t you listen?” Zuko shouted back, wailing, “I’ve _been_ grounded!”

“Only if you don’t know how to read and write High Court by the time we return!” Zhou shouted back.  “Depending on how long before Master Piandao takes us back, we could have plenty of time for you to learn!”

“I’m going to be grounded _forever_ ,” Zuko moaned dejectedly.

“Cheer up, Zuko, Zhou Is right.  You’re _really_ only grounded if you don’t learn how to read and write High Court,” Lu Ten told his pouting cousin.

“He is also right when he said that how much time you get to practice depends on me,” Master Piandao said.  “Since that is the case, I offer you a choice.  You may return to the Palace, where you’ll likely have _plenty_ of time to study High Court while you are grounded, or you can stay and train under me, but there will be many rules you will have to follow and you will likely have very little time to study anything else.  Bear in mind, however, your choice will also affect Zhou, since where you go, he will have to follow.”

“And why are you looking at him, Prince Zuko?” Master Piandao asked as Zuko turned to glance back at Zhou, who had adopted an admirably blank expression.  “This is supposed to be _your_ choice since it was your choice that brought you here.”

At that, Zuko flinched and seemed to shrink in on himself.  There was quiet for a while as they waited for Zuko to decide, and then Zuko’s entire bearing changed, his spine straightening, his stance squaring and he looked Master Piandao in the eye with a determined expression.

“I will train with you, Master,” he finally said with a formal bow.  “If you will still have me.”

“Very well then,” Master Piandao said.  “The conditions are as follows.  Neither you or your cousin Lu Ten are traveling with me as princes, you are merely my humble students.  As such, you will not be using your actual names, but will be going by the monikers of Shen, Li, and Ping,” he continued, gesturing first to Lu Ten, then to Zuko and finally at Zhou.

“But I’m not a prince, why do I have to change my name?” Zhou asked, raising his hand.

“This is part of your punishment for going along with Zuko’s ridiculous plot,” Master Piandao answered sharply.  “Now no more interruptions.  As I was saying, you will be going by these names for the entirety of this trip.  You will refer to each other as brothers and you will refrain from Firebending unless you are specifically training under the guidance of Shen.  You will apply yourselves diligently to every subject of study I put forth, and if I feel that you are purposefully slacking off, I will send you home.  Is this all clear?”

“Yes, sir!” the three chorused.

“In addition, Zhou, you will write a letter to your father in High Court detailing who you are with and why and hand it to me for proofreading, since you will be providing Zuko’s initial instruction in High Court, I want to make sure you are as competent as Princess Ursa Claims.”

“Yes, sir,” Zhou replied.


	2. Blushing Beginning

“Welcome to beautiful Nibon Village, which sits in the lee of Herobero Mountain,” Master Piandao told his three students.  “It is home to an active and bustling trade district and is renowned for its natural splendor.”

“It is a beautiful place,” his eldest student, Shen, said.

“Indeed, it is,” Master Piandao said.  “Since I seem to be in a generous mood; Ping, Li, here are three silver pieces each, stay together and you may go and get yourselves each a treat for you hard work so far.”

“Yes, sir!  Thank you, sir!” the two young boys answered.  Li only needing a gentle nudging reminder of proper ettiquet from Ping.  With that, the boys ran off into the market.

“You just wanted them out from underfoot, didn’t you?” Shen asked his master.

“I’ve heard some unsettling rumors coming from Nibon,” Piandao confirmed.

“What about, sir?” Shen asked as they started moving through the market themselves.

“People have started vanishing under the full moon,” Piandao told his student.

“Vanishing?” Shen prompted.

“You said you had some sage training?” Piandao asked instead.

“You think it’s some sort of spirit?” Shen replied.  “Yes, I do, though I might need Li as back up if you’re not going with the Fire Temple for a certain reason.”

“The Fire Temple has already declined to help,” Piandao said, “but if you think Li could help, we can certainly refocus his training.”

“You always want every advantage you can get against spirits, Master,” Shen told Piandao pointedly.

* * *

“What are you going to get, Ping?” Li asked the older boy.

“I don’t know, but I was thinking about getting a new calligraphy brush,” Ping replied.

“You can’t get a _calligraphy_ brush!” Li exclaimed.  “This is supposed to be a treat!”

“Watch…look out!” but Ping was too late and in a mutual bout of inattentiveness, a young woman with two relatively full baskets literally tripped over little Li, sending both to the ground.

“Oh no!” Ping wailed.  “We’re really sorry, ma’am!”

“Ow,” was all the woman moaned out, sprawled as she was ungainly on the street.  When she finally sat up, she took in Li and Ping’s penitent expression and the helpful passers-by gathering her purchases back into her baskets, and smiled bashfully.

“Don’t worry,” she told Ping, “it’s no wonder I tripped over your brother, he’s so small.”

She snickered at Li’s absolutely horrified expression, but flinched in pain when she moved her knee wrong moving to stand.

“What’s wrong, miss?” Ping asked when he noticed the flinch.

“I seem to have twisted my knee when I tripped over your tiny brother,” the young woman answered.  At that, pouted exaggeratedly at being referred to as ‘tiny’.  “Though he looks just big enough to carry one of my baskets back to the inn for me.  If you carry the other, I can use my carry pole as a crutch, and I can pay you with some of the spice buns I made this morning.”

Ping looked at Li in question about the offer.  At his excitement the prospect of spice buns.  “Okay, but we should probably find our older brother Shen to let him know where we are going.”

“That sounds fine,” the young woman said.  “My name is Yuzuki, what are yours?” she asked.

“I’m Ping, and this is my younger brother Li,” Ping told her.

“Alright, Ping, let’s go find this older brother of yours,” Yuzuki said as she used her carry pole to lever herself upright.  “Then I can get my purchases back to the inn.”

* * *

Finding Shen and Master Piandao didn’t take too long, and Ping explained what happened.

“Spice buns, hmm…” Master Piandao pondered, stroking his short beard contemplatively.

“Yes,” Yuzuki replied, “I’d be happy to share them with you.”

“I don’t see the harm,” Master Piandao replied, “it does seem to be my student’s fault you were injured, and if the price you request we pay is to eat some of your spice buns, that seems fair.”

“Exactly!” Li yelled, quite happy at the prospect of spice buns.

“It would be best if I carried both of the baskets while Shen carries the fair maiden,” Master Piandao stated, expression brightening into a downright mischievous smirk.

“What?” Shen babbled.  “I…I mean, why?”

“We can’t expect the boys to carry such large baskets all the way to the inn.  Just look at poor Li, he’s barely bigger than his basket,” Master Piandao explained, “and unless I miss my mark, I think she would far prefer to be carried by such a strapping young lad as yourself than some older fellow like me.  Unless you think her too heavy to carry.”

“What?” Shen squeaked, floundering in the face of Yuzuki’s expectant smile.  “I just didn’t want to seem too forward.”

“Oh, don’t worry!” Yuzuki said with a laugh.  “The lecherous old master has done well enough on your behalf.”

“For some reason,” Master Piandao said, “I don’t believe that I am the most forward person here.”

“She’s like that, she keeps calling me _tiny_ ,” Li said.

“You are,” everyone else chorused.

"But you are mighty,” Yuzuki said, “like the ants you so resemble.”

“That was both insult and compliment,” Ping breathed in awe.  Li, however, went quickly from beaming with pride to flailing in horrified shock.


	3. Inns and Pouts

“If you’re looking for somewhere to stay, this is really the best inn in town,” Yuzuki was saying as she leads the group into the inn she was staying at.  “It’s run by two sisters, Hama and Aisuka, who are Aunts of mine on my father’s side.”

“And how did you come to stay with these Aunts of yours?” Piandao asked the cheerful girl currently being carried by his eldest student, Shen.

“By accident, really,” Yuzuki replied, “my mother left me with my father when she left him.  After, when my father was adamant I should marry someone I just could not accept, I ran away.  I met a con man on the road and found out from him that my mother had remarried another man in a faraway town and had two more children, a little boy, and girl.  I wanted to meet my siblings, even though I haven’t much interest in meeting my mother, so I started traveling.  I met Hama and Aisuka a few days ago and found out that they originally were from my hometown’s sister village.  I’m planning to stay for a month while they tell me all sorts of stories.”

“How could you possibly know this con-man was telling the truth?” Piandao asked Yuzuki, aghast that she would so easily believe someone she described as a _conman_.

“Well, he didn’t right out say it, only mentioned a few seemingly unconnected things that let me know to look.  I was able to verify the information through another source, after that,” she replied.  “Though I have little more than my sibling’s names to go off of.  Now, I promised you spice buns, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, spice buns!” Li chirps, hopping up and down in his excitement.

Piandao and Shen exchange a look at the blatantly unsubtle topic change, but let it slide for the time being.  Yuzuki directs to two excited boys in finding and properly plating and serving the spice buns while Shen prepares the tea.

“Who are our guests, Yuzuki?” an old woman asks as she enters the room.

“Auntie!” Yuzuki shouts, stumbling up from her seat.  “Oh! This is Piandao and his students; Ping, Li, and Shen.  I tripped over Li at the market, so they helped me carry my baskets back.  Master Piandao, this is Aisuka, one of the sisters who run this inn.”

“And a lovely inn it is at that!” Shen said.  “Yuzuki said it was fine to make tea, but it is rather strange to offer it as a guest to my host.”

“Tea sounds wonderful, thank you,” Aisuka said.  “Now, would you care to explain why Yuzuki would need help carrying her baskets back from the market?”

“Oh!  It’s alright,” Yuzuki quickly assured the older woman.  “I just strained my knee a little when I tripped over little Li.  It’ll be better by tomorrow after some rest and ice.”

“Hmm…if you’re sure,” Aisuka sniffed, clearly somewhat disbelieving.  “Now, are these fine young men visiting out the wonderful town and looking for a place to stay?”

“Yes, if you have the opening, my pupils and I would appreciate a roof over our heads for the next week or so,” Piandao stated.  “We’d really only need two rooms.”

“We have two rooms available,” Aisuka assured him, “but why for so long?”

“I admit, it’s as much because we would like a roof over our heads after spending so much time sleeping under the stars,” Piandao told the old woman, “as it is caution about this ‘moon monster’ I’ve heard tell about.”

“Moon monster?” Yuzuki asked, “what’s this about a moon monster?”

“There have been disappearances in the nearby woods the last few years during the nights of the full moon,” Aisuka told her.  “It is why Hama and I wanted you to stay through the next one considering how you told us how you enjoyed your nights under the stars.”

“Why didn’t you just say so then?” Yuzuki asked, “and where’s Hama?  Isn’t she usually here by now?”

“Oh, she was just struck by a moment of inspiration and wanted to test it,” Aisuka said, “she should be back this evening.”

“Oh, wonderful!” Yuzuki bubbled, “Aisuka and Hama put on puppet shows in the evenings.  They’re really very good.”

“That sounds very interesting,” Piandao agreed.  “Maybe you and your sister would be agreeable to giving us a show at some point during our stay?”

“Oh, that would be lovely, we enjoy demonstrating our talents to captive audiences,” Aisuka assured him.

"I look forward to the experience," Piandao agreed.  "If you have those rooms ready, we could settle our bags after tea and finish out our training for the day now that the boys have had a suitable distraction."

"What type of day of training do you do?" Yuzuki asked the swords master and his students.

"Early morning starting at sun up; Ping, Li and I practice our firebending.  Mid-morning, Piandao takes over and we start drilling in swords.  After lunch is when we start on history and math lessons for the boys and evening is when the boys work on their High Court," Shen answered.

"High Court?" Yuzuki asked, "what's that?"

"It's like a secret language!" Li piped up, "it's what most official documents are written in and it's spoken in the capital a lot."

"More often by members of the court who want to seem more important than they actually are," Shen said.  "It's not really hard to learn, and unlike some, I've always thought any Fire Nation citizen should learn it, considering most of our laws are written in it and the scribes rarely bother to translate them to Common."

"My father insisted I only apply myself to women's work and never let me attend any lessons in sword fighting," Yuzuki sighed.  "I'd sneak out sometimes to spy on the village boys practicing and try to recreate the drills on my own."

"You could join us!" Li shouted.  "Your dad was crazy if he didn't want you to learn how to fight just because you're a girl!"

"Thank you for the kind invitation, Li, but maybe we should clear it with Master Piandao, don't you think?" Yuzuki said.

"Oh," Li said in a small voice, ducking his head in embarrassment.  He turned to Piandao with sheepish but devastating puppy eyes, "please, master?  Could Yuzuki please join our midmorning training?"

Startled, Piandao turned to the other three youngsters sitting at the table, noting that all of them were looking at him hopefully.  The only one who seemed to disapprove of the suggestion seemed to be Aisuka.

"I'm sure we'd all feel better about young Yuzuki traveling alone if she knows how to properly defend herself," Piandao mused.

"Be that as it may, Yuzuki still agreed to do daily chores to stay here," Aisuka stated.

"Then I'll just make sure to complete my morning chores before I join them," Yuzuki assured the old woman before turning back towards Piandao.  "I would be honored to join you and your students in the mornings, Piandao-sifu."

Well, at least their stay in Nibon would prove _interesting_ to say the least.


End file.
